'86 C-GT Alternator repair?/short in system? (long)

[Allan Jones <ampj@tiac.net>]

Hi guys,
	I'm curious as to how many listers are new since I last posted a month
or two ago...seems like hundreds. All the more to help!-I need it.
	I have a discharged battery and it will not hold a charge. The car
showed signs of losing its charge over a period of a day or two and then
died. I_can_jump the car and the engine_will_idle and rev showing
no_battery_idiot_light and showing a_reading_of_13 on the digital volt
display. But after shutting down, it will not re-start. Before jump,
there is nothing but a very_dim_battery_light and there is no_digital
dash display and no reading on the lower gauges(volts/oil temp) at all
until a few seconds have passed with the key in the start position, and
then digital display comes on and a reading of only_8 volts shows up on
the gauge. So battery is very low and does not hold a charge. Alt.?
	The alternator is a remanufactured Bosch(90 amp?) that is 18 months old
and has 100K miles on it. Is there supposed to be a braided ground wire
connected to the alt. on Coupe GTs?...because mine doesn't have one. Are
there supposed to be any wires connected to the regulator when it is
pulled out? Mine didn't have any. The voltage regulator looks corroded
and could be worn but with regards to regulators, I don't know what's
worn and what's not. The brushes seem long enough and seem fine, but I
don't know about that either. I read that the regulators are not
replaceable in the Bosch 90 amp alt.s, is that true? If so, should I try
to get one from a junkyard?

	Going thru the archives, I found this from several years back(I
believe):

>My alternator's the 90amp Bosch one, where everywhere I looked, cost >around $250 for a rebuilt one (PAP, GPR). Finally took the alternator >out and by luck, happened upon this place that was an authorized Bosch >heavy duty electrical service center, and for $20 the young guy that >helped me, put in new brushes, disassembled the alternator and put the >rotor (armature) on a lathe and leveled the lip(from the contact of the >old brushes) out and it was as good as new. All in 15 minutes. To think >some other shop wanted $125 to rebuild mine. Later, I had some contact >problems but fine sandpaper cured it. 

	Is this my problem?! ..and is there a 'service center' like this around
the Boston area!?
	
>You do not have enough current to start the car, I think.
>There are two possiblities. The first and probably most likely is a
>bad battery. You should open it up to check the water level,
>and cells' condition, and voltage level. Replace it if it's bad. 
>The other possibility is a bad alternator which should trigger the 
>battery warning light. If this is the case, you should check to see 
>if the voltage regulator mounted on the outside of the alternator
>has been badly worn.

	Is THIS my problem?! ..doubt it, my 'Autobahn' battery(550 CCA) is
under two years old. Is it possible that this battery could be bad
now(drained too low) since the problem has been ongoing for several
days?(no time to fix during week)
	Some other causes I found in the archives:

>1)  Burnt out indicator lamp.
>2)  Burnt out series diode.
>3)  Some, one or two of the auxillary diodes in the
>    bridge are "open circuit"

>1) and 2) will show up as a dead lamp when the ignition
>is turned on, but the engine has not been started. 3) will
>need a new alternator ( or re-built ). 

	My idiot light works as described above...a dim light would not be
considered a "dead lamp", right? Do I have an open circuit? or a short
somewhere?
	Thanks in advance to all who offer help! And sorry for the excessive
detail, resulting in excessive BW.
  _____   _____________     ____________________________________
                                                                
  ALLAN   ampj@tiac.net      1986 COMMEMORATIVE DESIGN COUPE GT 
  JONES   Burlington MA      169K Miles And Always Needing Work 
  _____   _____________     ____________________________________